Tamed By A Fox
by MariekoWest
Summary: Every day he stood here, in this very corner down the same road; he would dream and sigh and laugh and pretend. Pretend to not be aware of how many passers-by stared or how many days it has been, or how much his heart ached for his torment one day to end… Today was not that day. SenRu (Sendoh x Rukawa)(Warning: BL Innuendo & Lost Kittens) Happy SenRu Day 2018!


**Warnings/Tags:** Friendship, Implied BL, Light & Fluffy, Possible OOC-ness, Post-Canon, Cats, SenRu Day 2018, SendohxRukawa (SenRu), 仙流, 腐向け

 **Disclaimer:** **Slam Dunk** (and its characters) belong to their respective owners. I own nothing except this derivative fanwork which I do not profit from.

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Story #5

 **"Tamed By A Fox"**

* * *

No one would have imagined that the boy playing quiet games with the cat on the bed was the same Kaede Rukawa everyone knew; that same unsociable being that slept through almost everything else that didn't involve a bouncing bright orange ball– was now immensely absorbed in this child-like play. No one would ever have guessed nor believed– that the sound of quiet laughter belonged to him as he continued to be mesmerized by the coal-coloured cat's antics; awake and attentive, as though the clawing session was an intense one-on-one basketball session that he intended to win. The only difference was that he knew he was up against a smaller creature, and so he kept his attacks to a somewhat playfully gentle jabbing, chuckling faintly as the agitated feline gamely pawed his face, mewling and hissing.

Akira Sendoh, almost every moment around Rukawa, felt like the said cat.

On the outside, it seemed as though he had the upper-hand because Rukawa could never beat him in court. But in reality, it was he who had been beaten even before the game began… So utterly and hopelessly tamed by those mysterious blue-eyes.

…

"You hungry?"

…

The Ryounan ace player's cogitations dissolved then and reality faded back in, leaving him blinking up at those stunning pools of azure. Rukawa must have noticed that he was being watched intently for he had now resumed his normal countenance, save for a faint remainder of mirth glinting in his eyes. The ebony-haired youth sat up and slid into his slippers as he put the cat on the floor.

"I'm hungry."

And with that, he slipped out of the room…

 _Their room._

 **-x-**

It was no coincidence that he was here again. In this same corner, down this same road, a train ride (or, if he felt like it, a lengthy bike ride) away. Twenty minutes if he took his time; fifteen if he hurried a skosh. He came back every day since the first time, as often as he could win against all rational thinking—for if you had asked him for a reason then, he wouldn't have hidden that fact that he had none that made sense.

It was merely a wild compulsion; a thoughtless folly… Nothing but a completely bonkers feeling. Yet nothing else in the world could matter more than that feeling.

Until then, Sendoh had no idea that being crazy demanded more courage of an individual than sanity. He had always prided himself a realist; never one to indulge in daydreams and abstract concepts like destiny. But one day, he woke up and was convinced that that was not who he was at all.

Now, he couldn't help but question what destiny was… Was destiny truly fixed? Or forged? Now, apparently, reality no longer mattered to him. Because if he didn't believe destiny was the latter, then he wouldn't be here. Again. And again. And again.

Hoping for a chance encounter; overly audacious to even wish for a smile… But the more he imagined it—for he imagined often now, all the possibilities possessed of a dreamer—the more he wanted more. And every day he stood here, in this very corner down the same road, he would dream and sigh; and laugh and pretend. Pretend to not be aware of how many passers-by stared, or how many days it has been, or how much his heart ached for his torment one day to end.

Today was not that day…

 **-x-**

How long has it been? Time was just one of those irrelevant things that didn't exist whenever he was here. Same corner, same street. Again. Wanting… Waiting…

 _Wanting what? Waiting for what?_

For his destiny? Or for something to knock some sense into him? (Or whichever would come first.) He figured if those didn't come for him, that he'd have to get tired of doing this some time, right? It's not like he could keep doing this forever… (Whatever this was.)

Living in the land of dreams…

 _Ebony locks and treetops… Snow faeries and innocent blue eyes… Red leaves falling… Angels' voices calling…_

Wouldn't it be so nice if we could just dream forever…?

 **-x-**

"What are you doing standing there like an _*a'hou_?" _(*idiot?)_

 **-x-**

 _Time, which I had been dragging at Akira Sendoh's feet, suddenly screeched to a halt._

 **-x-**

"Were you actually sleeping standing up?" Blue eyes grew wide. *" _Sugoi._ " _(*Amazing.)_

 **-x-**

 _What do you do when you wake up to reality to find your most beautiful dream right there in front of you?_

 **-x-**

"I… I err… I was uhh… Uhh…"

Kaede Rukawa's perfect brows lifted slightly.

"I uhh… I was… —I was looking for my cat!"

Rukawa blinked slowly. "Your cat?" he said, looking surprisingly more attentive than usual.

Sendoh inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, mentally patting himself on the back for coming up with a _not-so-stupid_ -sounding excuse despite the circumstances.

"Err, yes. My cat… The poor girl has been missing for weeks now!" This time, he inwardly crossed his fingers, hoping that his story would hold up.

The Shohoku Ace paused and looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Is he black?" asked Rukawa.

Sendoh tried to bring to mind all the stray cats he's ever seen in this neighbourhood but decided _what the heck!_ This was all probably some strange hallucination anyway, right? So… _Okay, my cat is black!_

"Yeah, that's right!"

"This big?" Rukawa gestured.

Sendoh nodded, even if he really wasn't comprehending nor believing much of what he was seeing at that point (if he was even actually collected enough to do some "seeing" to begin with). This time, he was sure he looked pretty stupid. But he didn't have more time to worry about it, pleasantly shocked as he was, he could only afford to continue to be shocked as the Shohoku superstar took him by the wrist and proceeded to pull him along in quite a rush.

 _This has got to be a dream,_ Sendoh marvelled, breathlessly giddy. He didn't pay attention to where they were going; Rukawa could take him to Mars, or even to hell for all he cared.

Rukawa stopped in front of an old, red-brick apartment building, punched in a number code into the electronic panel by the door, and breezed through the entrance after bowing to an elderly lady with a sleeping cat on her lap seated on a couch in the receiving area. _Could this be where Rukawa lived?_ The hammering in his chest jumped to his ears at the prospect.

No one knew where the great Kaede Rukawa lived. He had tried following the boy home a couple of times, but it was always at that corner of the intersection by the railroad tracks where the trail went cold. He stayed as close and as far as possible in his pursuit; the last thing he needed was for Rukawa to see him and think he was some creepy stalker…

Alighting the elevator at the topmost floor, a room at the very end of the dimly lit corridor is unlocked and they entered a modest-sized and rather comfortable-looking loft. Instantly, the basketball-related content strewn about all over confirmed Sendoh's excited speculations. This was _indeed_ Kaede's apartment, and he was _indeed_ now in Kaede's room!

"I think I found your cat."

Rukawa peeled aside a corner of his comforter to reveal an open drawer beneath his bed frame. Inside, curled up in a bunched up blanket, was a tiny kitten.

"Is this her?"

Sendoh was thankful he was mildly breathless from the sudden run, and that– along with his flushing face conveniently masked all the emotions churning up inside him then. He got to his knees beside Rukawa and freed the smile bursting from his chest as he stared down at the sleeping black kitten.

Before this moment, he didn't know why there was something about Rukawa—something that he couldn't forget. Until now, he didn't have a name for all what he was feeling – didn't have a clue where to start finding all the answers. All he knew, was that he had to keep coming back to that spot, that crossroad of fate that he longed would bring them a little bit closer…

And now, here he was— _here Rukawa was_ … and Sendoh was a mess; not knowing what it all meant or what he should do about it. But what he did know was that, more than anything, he was happy – happier than he's ever been.

"Heeeeeyy! There you are! How'd you get all the way here, little buddy?" Sendoh reached down to pat the slumbering animal, hoping his affection sounded genuine enough. "Oh, wow. Thank goodness you found her. I was just… man! I was practically losing my mind with worry and—!" his words turned into an exclamation of surprise as the cat awoke and jumped to its feet, hissing and bearing its fangs at him, claws protracted.

Rukawa glared at him intently beneath long lashes.

The Ryounan Point Forward swallowed hard as his junior leaned closer to him, eyes boring into his.

"I'm sorry to break it to you but…"

Sendoh's heart skipped a beat (or two).

"…Your cat is a 'he' not a 'she'."

"Oh." Sendoh laughed nervously. "R-really? Gee. Well. I uhh, didn't really check. Just… kind of… assumed, because, uhh— 'he' was really…

…

"… _Beautiful._ "

…

Finally, Rukawa withdrew to fondly pet the still agitated kitten who took a time-out from trying to scratch at the spiky-haired team captain's fingers and purred. Said spiky-haired person finally allowed himself to release the breath he'd been holding.

"Hey, it's okay, little fella. It's only your master, porcupi—err, Sendoh-san."

(Said 'porcupine' sweatdropped.)

"I'm sorry, I didn't know he was yours," Rukawa offered.

"Hey, no! Don't apologize! I'm really glad you found her, I- I mean, 'him'…" Sendoh's thoughts are scattered once more, rendering him speechless all over again as Rukawa had picked up the kitten and held it close to his chest, stroking its fur with utmost care. The fond but somewhat sad expression on the pale boy's angelic face left Sendoh completely spellbound (and the sweet smell of Rukawa's shampoo wasn't helping at all).

"What's his name?" Rukawa suddenly asked, meeting his concentrated gaze once more.

"N-name?" Sendoh panicked. _Right. A name._ He looked at the cat and then at Rukawa, quickly averting his gaze back to the cat as his heart gave another violent jolt.

Finally, Sendoh smiled up at his companion.

"Kitsune. His name is Kitsune."

"Kitsune?"

"Yep, Kitsune."

"Kitsune is a girl's name," Rukawa grumbled without looking. The kitten too, looked displeased at the name.

"Well, I did think he was a she…" Sendoh snickered sheepishly. Then added, "Besides, Sakuragi calls you Kitsune, doesn't he?"

"That's because he is a feeble-minded _a'hou_ …" Rukawa whispered, but…

 _Was Sendoh imagining it, or did the Kaede not only look sad but sound sad as well?_ Guilt began to gnaw at his conscience for making Rukawa think that this cat which he was obviously really attached to, belonged to him. Sure, he white-lied, and it was wrong, but he was determined to amend the situation.

"Listen, as you can probably see, Kitsune never liked me that much anyway… But I can see how much he's taken to you so, you can have him."

"B-but…" Rukawa faced him. "You've been looking for Kitsune, haven't you? And you came this far… Don't you miss him?"

Sendoh gave the kitten a pat (getting a hiss and a tiny scratch in return). The furball _was_ pretty darned cute, all things considered. Then he looked at Rukawa and said, a little too meaningfully:

"I do _…_ very much."

Neither of them spoke for a minute or two; neither of them moved. They were just two people caught in each other's eyes, a million things being said without a single word, all of which felt entirely off their current topic.

Sendoh smiled. Rukawa broke eye contact. More silence elapsed.

Only when Sendoh remembered that he had no business being there anymore now that he's relinquished "his cat", he thought it best to not push his luck and get going. The last thing he wanted was to give Rukawa the impression that he was perverted weirdo. He straightened up to leave.

"It's okay, take him," Rukawa broke the silence, one hand on the hem of Sendoh's shirt. "But…"

The taller youth turned back, breath bated.

"Would it be okay… if I visited Kitsune at your house?"

Sendoh wanted nothing more than to have Rukawa come over to his house, and he was barely able to stop himself from blurting out something that would have further embarrassed him. But seeing that uncharacteristic look of sadness on the Shohoku vice-captain's face…

"Tell you what, I've got a better idea. _You_ keep him. I'll be the one to come over and visit him… That is, of course, if you don't—"

"I don't mind," Rukawa mumbled quickly.

Sendoh laughed, lightheaded with glee. "Great! I'll see you around then? Thanks again for taking care of Kitsune!"

He didn't want to leave, of course. But in all honesty, Sendoh hadn't felt so happy in a long time that he feared that if he stayed any longer, his heart would literally burst from too much joy. Now that he knew he didn't have to stand and wait at that corner of the intersection by the railroad crossing anymore, he couldn't ask for anything more – he felt, at peace. Like everything in his life could only get better and brighter from that point on.

And he didn't know it yet then, how right he was. That in the near future, he and Rukawa would compete in the nationals as teammates and later on, get chosen to play for one of the most well-known universities for basketball in America; in which by that time, they would already be the bestest of friends friends can be, and naturally, would have already decided to to move in together under one roof for "practical" reasons…

He didn't know it yet…

…

"Oi, Sendoh."

"Hm?"

*" _Arigatou._ "

"It's nothing."

…

…But Akira Sendoh knew, it was anything _but_ nothing.

It was actually the start of _everything_.

 **The End.**

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 **Notes :**

In Japanese folklore, foxes (or kitsune) are often interpreted as beautiful women. They also make sounds that eerily sound like crying or screaming women, which is where the whole folklore stemmed from – lots of stories about foxes really being women in disguise, luring men into the forest or creating mischief… In the canon series, Sakuragi deliberately calls Rukawa "kitsune" as part of the jab at his "masculinity" (many Japanese doujinshikas took this a step further and actually went ahead and had Sakuragi call Rukawa "gay" which is actually what he was driving for by calling him that, since "fox women" were known in folklore to seduce men into following their "voice" into the woods to never be seen again).

(An old unfinished piece that I just polished up a bit for today...) ✧ **Happy SenRu Day 2018!** ✧

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(2012/11/25-2018/07/11)


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